Piccioli's First Balenciaga Couture Show Rejects Homage for Modernity

Pierpaolo Piccioli presented his first haute couture collection for Balenciaga, Spring/Summer 2026, outdoors under the sun rather than in the historic Avenue George V salons. He rejected the term 'homage' to Cristóbal Balenciaga, instead aiming for a 'couture for now' that infuses the entire house with couture culture. The collection featured weightless garments, bold colors like fluorescent yellow and Gonzo lilac, and innovative materials including biologically engineered silk from a Munich lab and cashmere on molded leather. Piccioli, who studied literature and previously worked at Valentino, has presented four collections and two shows since joining Balenciaga. The show included a sequence of black 'shadow' dresses and a closing wedding dress made of DNA-sequenced silk. He emphasized making something beautiful as the answer to modernizing couture.